Saints quarterback Drew Brees remained stuck in one of the worst slumps of his career in New Orleans with two more interceptions Sunday - both of them costly. It would be easy to accuse Brees of "trying to do too much" or "forcing the ball downfield," since both passes were picked off in traffic in the middle of the field - which has been the case during many of his nine interceptions over the past three games.

But in Brees' mind, the passes themselves weren't any different than the kind of aggressive balls he's been throwing for most of his remarkable career with the Saints. The results just keep going the wrong way.

"Obviously, we've been behind in some of these games so I've been taking some chances that you might not ordinarily take," Brees said. "Some of them have been poor throws. You know, just bad location and could have been thrown a little bit better. There have been a few that have been bad decisions and you want to get rid of those. There have been a few that have been bad luck - your arm gets hit or the ball gets tipped or whatever it might be. Those are the unfortunate ones. It still falls on you as the quarterback."

The two picks Sunday were both intended for tight end Jimmy Graham. The first one bounced off Graham's hands when Brees threw the ball in a catchable spot just beyond the tight coverage of safety Antrel Rolle. But it was a risky throw, and safety Stevie Brown snagged the tipped ball. The second time, in the fourth quarter, Brown anticipated the throw and cut in front of Graham, who said he didn't even know he was in the area.

"I tried to give Jimmy a chance on that (first) one," Brees said. "A defender was kind of draped on him. I'm not sure about the contact. I felt like I put it in a place where Jimmy could get it. Unfortunately, it gets tipped up right to another guy and not down. The other one, I really threw it right where I wanted to. The guy (Stevie Brown) made a great play cutting Jimmy off. Not sure if Jimmy felt he was there. That's just one of those tight throws that I felt like I threw it with good zip exactly where I wanted to. Unfortunately, he stepped in front of it."

2. GRAHAM UP AND DOWN, TOO

It's hard to say if Graham will be credited with an official "drop" for that first interception. The ball hit off his hands, but it would have been a tough catch, and it could also be credited as a pass break-up for safety Antrel Rolle.

However, Graham certainly had a chance to reel in the ball. And he has had more struggles with pass-catching this season than in either of his first two NFL seasons. According to ESPN Stats and Information, he led all NFL players with nine dropped passes heading into the game.

"We haven't learned from our mistakes," Graham said. "Me and all of us have to realize that when you're carrying the ball, everyone's hopes and dreams are in your hands."

Even before the interceptions, the Saints sabotaged themselves with two first-quarter fumbles - one by receiver Marques Colston and one by fullback Jed Collins. According to the Fox broadcast, the Saints had been the only team in the NFL with no fumbles on the road before today.

4. QUOTE OF THE DAY

Left tackle Jermon Bushrod summed up the three-game losing streak better than anyone.

"Sucks," Bushrod said. "Truthfully, it sucks. Three games where we didn't do much to really help ourselves. ... We turned it on sometimes.

5. STARTING ON WRONG FIELD

Of all the numbers that could describe Sunday's "game within the game," none told the story better than the teams' average starting field position. Because of the Saints' four turnovers and awful kickoff coverage, the Giants' average starting field position was actually on the Saints' 49-yard line. That was 32 yards better than the Saints' average starting field position of their own 19-yard line.

The Giants started seven drives inside Saints territory and two others at their own 45- and 48-yard line. And that doesn't even include the kickoff they returned for a touchdown in the first quarter.

6. HISTORICALLY BAD

The 287 kickoff return yards allowed by the Saints on six kickoff returns were a franchise record for both teams. The Saints obviously don't match up well against the Giants in the return game. The most kickoff return yards the Saints had allowed previously was 230 to the Giants in 2009 on eight kickoff returns.

7. MORGAN GOES DEEP

Saints receiver Joe Morgan had two more deep receptions Sunday - a 62-yarder and a 44-yarder. He now has seven catches this season for a total of 310 yards and an astounding average of 44.3 yards per catch. Morgan won't have enough receptions to qualify for the NFL record (24). But he'd be on pace to shatter it. The record is 32.58 yards per catch.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning was off target early in the game. He threw an interception on the second drive that was returned 73 yards for a touchdown by Saints cornerback Elbert Mack. And he threw another costly pick to safety Isa Abdul-Quddus late in the third quarter.

But he definitely found his rhythm enough to throw for 259 yards and four touchdowns. And he picked on four Saints cornerbacks at different stretches. Jabari Greer, Patrick Robinson, Mack and Johnny Patrick each took turns getting burned throughout a turbulent day.

9. STANDING DOWN

The Saints' defense had done such an outstanding job of holding tight inside the 5-yard line throughout this season. But they couldn't manage any such heroics Sunday. The Giants scored touchdowns on all four of their trips inside the Saints' 10-yard line.